Prevent diabetes from changing your life. Get healthier for free.
Register now for the Diabetes Prevention Program.
It is estimated that 96 million adults in the United States are living with prediabetes. But what’s even worse is that more than 8 in 10 of them don’t even know they have it and could go on to develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years if no action is taken. With prediabetes, your blood sugar is higher than normal but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as diabetes. The good news is that making simple lifestyle changes can prevent/delay you from developing diabetes.
Take the Prediabetes Risk Test to find out if you have prediabetes. If your score is 5 or higher, click here to sign up for the Spectrum Health Diabetes Prevention Program.
Spectrum Health Lakeland Diabetes and Nutrition is pleased to be offering the Diabetes Prevention Program free of charge to the community. To register, click here. This year-long lifestyle change program piloted by the Center for Disease Control has been shown to help individuals at risk of developing type 2 diabetes prevent or delay the onset of the disease. A trained lifestyle coach partners with participants to help them build healthy habits that can last a lifetime which include selecting and preparing healthy meals without compromising taste, healthy eating habits, increasing physical activity, managing/reducing stress, and improving coping skills.
Classes are held in a group setting of not more than 20 people virtually and in-person at the Center for Outpatient Services located at 3900 Hollywood Rd, St Joseph, MI 49085 in the morning, afternoon or evening. The close knit group setting makes it easy to share ideas and get support and encouragement from others with similar struggles and hear strategies they have employed to combat them that could help you achieve your goal.
To qualify for the program, individuals must be at least 18 years old with prediabetes or at risk of developing type 2 diabetes and have never been diagnosed with diabetes. Individuals must also commit to staying in the program for a year. You do not need a referral by your provider to register. During the first 4 months, you’ll meet weekly for one hour, and then bi-weekly for the next four months, and for the last 4 months, once monthly.
Diabetes is a chronic debilitating disease that often leads to heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and even death. It is considered the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. It is costly to manage and can severely impact your quality of life, depriving you of spending quality time with loved ones, making memories and engaging in activities with them due to fatigue.
Blood sugar is derived from the food we eat and serves as the main the source of energy the body requires to function optimally. The pancreas is responsible for producing a hormone called insulin which helps channel glucose into the cells for use as energy. Sometimes, the pancreas can’t produce insulin, or if it does, it is often not enough, and the body doesn’t use it well. As a result, glucose remains in the blood and is unable to be absorbed by the cells for energy. Over time, elevated amounts of glucose in the blood can result in other health anomalies and conditions.
Other factors such as being overweight, being older than 45, having developed diabetes at pregnancy (gestational diabetes) and being physically active for less than 3 days per week increase one’s chances of developing type 2 diabetes. Diabetes can happen to anyone at any age. However, Hispanics and people of Asian and African ancestry are more at risk of developing type 2 diabetes than Caucasians.
By making small, healthy lifestyle changes, it is possible to prevent type 2 diabetes and even reverse prediabetes. Use the button below or call 269.556.7171 to register for upcoming diabetes prevention classes.